JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The City of Jacksonville said it has been awarded about $12.5 million in federal and philanthropic grants to modernize its Mayport working waterfront, advance multimodal transportation projects downtown, expand emergency shelter services, and invest in urban trees and youth-led sustainability efforts.
Mayor Donna Deegan said the awards will improve quality of life across the city, supporting the seafood supply chain, expanding transportation options, getting people off the streets, and improving tree canopy in disinvested neighborhoods.
Recommended Videos
The five most recent awards:
- Mayport Dock Redevelopment, Phase II — $11,210,471 (U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration, Port Infrastructure Development Program). Funds will modernize and storm-harden commercial dock infrastructure at the Mayport working waterfront, adding new mooring structures, a reinforced concrete deck, a floating dock with gangway access, polymeric fender piles, upgraded upland systems including power pedestals, water service, solar lighting and a modern stormwater system. Total project cost is $14,013,089.76, with the city providing a $2,802,617.95 nonfederal match.
- JAX FAST: Focused Accelerator for Sustainable Transportation — $1,150,000 (U.S. DOT Build America Bureau, Regional Infrastructure Accelerator Program). The grant will establish an embedded accelerator office in the Department of Public Works to move eight priority multimodal projects through predevelopment, credit readiness and financing. The portfolio focuses on the LaVilla and downtown area and includes projects such as McCoys Creek restoration and greenway, Beaver Street and Water Street complete streets, Amtrak relocation to the Jacksonville Regional Transportation Center, and the First Coast Regional Rail initiative.
- Rapid Unsheltered Survivor Housing — $132,902 (U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Emergency Solutions Grant). The award supplements emergency shelter services and builds on roughly $1 million the city received under the same program in early 2025 for rapid rehousing, street outreach, emergency shelters, case managers at nonprofit shelters and Homeward Bound program support.
- Ribault River Neighborhoods Urban Forest Resilience and Risk Reduction Project — $50,000 (U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Urban and Community Forestry, Inflation Reduction Act grant). The funds will pay ISA-certified arborists to inspect, prioritize and prune at least 166 trees in public parks in the Ribault River corridor, removing hazardous limbs, extending tree lifespan, strengthening storm resilience and advancing Resilient Jacksonville goals. The area is designated as a disadvantaged community with elevated poverty and chronic flood and heat exposure.
- Jacksonville Youth Sustainability Action Initiative — $50,000 (Bloomberg Philanthropies). The city will support youth-led pitch competitions, microgrants and partnerships with schools and nonprofits to move youth-generated sustainability solutions into implementation, building on Mayor’s Youth at Work and the Mayor’s Cup Sustainable Build Challenge.
The city said the five grants are part of more than $359 million in state, federal and philanthropic awards the city has received since July 1, 2023. The city also noted it is working with partners to recover a previously rescinded $147 million award for the Emerald Trail.